The weather threatens to delay the landing of the Space Shuttle Discovery andits seven-member crew Monday morning.Discovery is scheduled to land at 8:48 a.m. EDT Monday at the Kennedy SpaceCenter in Florida. Showers and thunderstorms from either a storm passing by tothe south or a frontal boundary could delay the shuttle's return.
According to NASA, the shuttle will not land if thunderstorms or rain arewithin 35 miles of the Kennedy Space Center. Poor weather would force theshuttle to remain in orbit until conditions clear.
Another option is to divert the shuttle to Edwards Air Force Base inCalifornia, but at a costly expense. If the shuttle lands in California, itmust then get carried back to the Kennedy Space Center by a modified Boeing747.
The weather should not interfere with a landing at Edwards Air Force BaseMonday, if it is deemed necessary. Tuesday is when adverse weather, in the formof gusty winds, will reach Edwards Air Force Base.
The landing of Discovery should complete a 14-day mission that involved a tripto the International Space Station. The members of Discovery had the task ofdelivering supplies to the space station and completing three spacewalks.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
